Transferable load containers



March 6, 1962 J. s. PENMAN TRANSFERABLE LOAD CONTAINERS 7 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed June 23, 1959 March 6, 1962 J. s. PENMAN 3,023,918 TRANSFERABLELOAD CONTAINERS Filed June 23. 1959 7 sheets-sheet 2 March 6, 1962 J. s.PENMAN 3,023,918

TRANSFERABLE LOAD CONTAINERS Filed June 23. 1959 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 sf lMarchAG, 1962 J. s. PENMAN TRANSFERABLE LOAD CONTAINERS '7 Sheets-Sheet4 Filed June 25, 1959 7 Imm March 6, 1962 J. s. PEN MAN 3,023,918

TRANSFERABLE LOAD CONTAINERS Filed June 23. 1959 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 March6, 1962 J. s. PENMAN TRANSFERABLE LOAD CONTAINERS 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 FiledJune 23, 1959 INVENTOR PII IIIIIIIIIIII John Semple Penman ATTORNEYMarch 6, 1962 1. s. Px-:NMAN

TRANSFERABLE LOAD CONTAINERS 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed June 23, 1959 IIII.IL

KHIMUHIIIIIH:

rNvENToR John Semple Penman BY wmgwm ATTORNEYS 3,023,918-TRANSFERABLELOAD CONTAINERS John Semple Penman, Qneensberry Motor'Works,

Dumfries, Scotland Filed -Jun23,- 1959, Ser. VNo. 822,369 Claimspriority, application Great BritainJune .24, 1958.

Claims. (Cl. 214-.-38).

This invention rela-tes to a transferablenload.container of the typehavingat least -two pairs. of; longitudinally spaced followers adaptedto projectfrom. both sides of.

for ease of transferring the container from aplatformed motor vehicle toa'at 4rail truck and vviceversa.

In the specification yand in the claims, all referencesto frontv andrear as applied tothe container relate t- Ithe container as viewed inthenormal direction` of travel of the container when mounted on avehicle or on a railtruck.

A transferable load container, of the` type referred to, according tothe invention isprovided at the front and at the rear with a flappivoted about a horizontal axis to the underside of the container, anda` lever operatively connected to eachliap land operable to cause the.associated llap to swing about its pivot from a position in which the apis substantially horizontal to a position in which the flap is Vinclineddownwardly. from the base of the container and vice versa.

Two forms of transferable load container, of the type referred to,according'tothe invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawingsin which:

FIG. 1f is a side elevation of the iirst form of container which is ofthe type used for transporting goods by a rail truck.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the rst form.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of ramps lfor receiving the container.

FIG. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation, drawn toa larger scale, than the precedingiigures, of one of the aps and its associated operating mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section on the line 6 6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section on the line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary section on the line 8 8 of FIG. l.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of the second form of contaiuer which is ofthe type used for transporting goods by a motor vehicle.

FIG. 10 is an end view of the second form of container.

FIG. 1l is a side elevational View showing a flat bottomed motor vehiclein the loading bay between the ramps and a transferable load containerlocated on the ramps above the motor vehicle, the load container beingin the position either in which it has been moved onto the ramps fromthe motor vehicle or in which it is ready to be moved off the ramps ontothe motor vehicle, by backing the motor vehicle.

FIG. l2 is an end view partly in section taken from the left in FIG. 1l,with certain parts of the container omitted.

Referring to the drawings in which like numerals denote like parts, 11denotes the body of the container. 12 denotes each of two pairs oflongitudinally spaced fol- States Patent lowers having rollers.20,.(=FIG. 8) and adapted to project from andto be retracted intobothvsides of the container 11 at the front and at the rear of thecontainer 11 inv such wise asto engage a pair offequi-spaced o rparallel ramps the underside ofthe container \11. One end of each tube`18 is operatively connected to a cranked lever 19- located exteriorly ofthe container 11 and movableto cause the associated.ap 17'toswing aboutits pivot-18,from a.

position in which the .base of .the-nap 17.is substantially horizontalYto a position in which the ilap -is inclined downwardly. fromthe baseofthecontainerll and vice versa.

Eachlever19 ismovable through a .preselected arc in a guidef21 (FIG. 5)'secured to the. associated .side ofthe container'll. The lever. 19. isarranged, Whenthe associated ilap 17 is in the raised position, to-beengaged byV a.,catch22xon the .associatedside of vthefcontainer 11 and,.when Ydepressed and moved sideways slightly clearof the catch .22, tospring clear of the catch y22. The. aps 17, when the associ-ated levers19 =are disengagedffrom theV catches 22, are, normally `freemto swingdownwardly under their ownweight.

Eachilap 17 extends for slightly less than the width of the container11.

When, the iiaps- 17 are, inclined downwardly from the.

container 11, the `front ilap. 17 is inclinedtowardsthe the followers12'are projected from the container 11Y'and. 'the flaps 17 are locatedwith their bases in horizontall positions adjacent to the underside ofthe container. The vehicle is reversed or backed along la rail track,which may be provided with guides for the vehicle wheels, to one end ofthe loading bay where the rollers 20 on the rear followers 112 engagethe adjacent inclined portions 16 of the ramps 13 and 14. The lever 19toward the front of the vehicle is actuated to release it from the catch22 and permit the associated ap .17 to tilt downwardly and rest on theplatform of the motor vehicle.

Now, with the motor vehicle in position to be moved between the rampsand the rollers` 20 at the rear respectively engaging the adjacentportions 16 of the ramps, continued reverse movement of the vehiclebetween the ramps causes the container 11 and the ilap 17 at the frontto slide along the vehicle platform until the flap 17 engages the frontof the body of the vehicle above the platform or a rail 24 provided forthat purpose. This engagement stops the sliding of the container on thevehicle platform and the rollers 20 at the rear roll respectively upadjacent the inclined portions 16 o-f the ramps 13 and 14. This movementis then continued until -both pairs of rollers 20 are rolled onto andalong on the ramps until they rest on the horizontal portions 15. Thisoperation raises the container `11 clear of the vehicle platform so thatits entire weight is supported by the ramps 13 and 14. The vreleasedlever 19 toward the `front of the vehicle is then actuated to raise theassociated ap 17 and the lever is placed under the latch 22.

The motor vehicle is now driven away from between the ramps 13 and 14anda flat rail truck is then moved to a position between the ramps underthe container 11. The appropriate lever 19 is then -actuated to lowerthe associated flap 17 onto the Hat rail truck so that it is in positionto engage -a stop or rail on the truck for the Patented- Mar. 6,` 1962.

purpose of rolling the container in the direction of movement of @thetruck, when the truck is shunted out from between the rails 13 and 14.As the rollers 20 move along the ramps, they in turn roll down theinclined portions 16 at the end, in the direction of movement of therail truck until the container 1 1 is clear of the ramps 13 and 14 andis supported by the rail truck. The released ilever 19 is then actuatedto raise the associated ap 17.

It will be understood that the inclined portions 16 ait the respectiveends of the ramps 13 and 14 are provided so that a vehicle or rail truckmay enter or leave from either end and so that a container may be rolledon or olf from either end of the ramps. It will furthermore beunderstood that iiaps 17 are provided `at both endsof the container sothat it may be actuated from either end to move it onto or off theramps.

The above described process is repeated when it is desired to transferthe container from a rail truck to a platformed vehicle, such as themotor vehicle 23.

It is to be understood that any desired number of containers may betransferred from vehicles to the loading bay and removed by acorresponding number of trucks, or a plurality of containers transferredfrom rail trucks to the loading bay may be removed singly by` motorvehicles.

What is claimed is:

1. A transferable elongated load container having longitudinally spacedfollowers at both sides of said container, means for projecting saidfollowers from said sides to a position for engaging a pair of parallelspaced ramps, a member mounted transversely of the underside of thecontainer at each end portion thereof for turning movement about ahorizontal axis, a. ap mounted on each of said members and extendingtherefrom', and a lever connected to each of said members and operableto turn said member on said axis and swing the associated flap from aposition in which the flap is substantially horizontal to a position inwhich the flap is inclined downwardly from the underside of saidcontainer and from a position in which said tiap is inclined downwardlyfrom said underside to a position in which said ap is substantially hor-.izont'alf Y 2. A transferable container as claimed in claim 1, in whichthe member mounted transversely of the underside of the container ateach end portion thereof comprises a tube journaled for turning movementabout a horizontal axis, one end of said tube projecting from a side ofsaid container, and said lever being connected to the projecting end ofsaid tube for eifecting the turning movement of the tube and 4theswinging of the flap.

3. A transferable container as claimed in claim 1, in which each of saidlevers is cranked, land a catch on the side of the container located ina position for engagement by :the lever when the associated flap is inits substantially horizontal position.

4. A transferable container as claimed in cla-im l, in which each flapextends substantially the width of the container.

5. In a transferableelongated load container of the type to betransferred from the platform of fa vehicle to a pair of spaced rampsbetween which the Vehicle moves during the transfer and in which thecontainer is provided with rollers at each side at each end for engagingthe ramps, the improvement comprising a member mounted transversely ofthe underside of `the container at each end portion thereof for turningmovement about a horizontal axis, a ap mounted on each of said membersextending therefrom in the direction of the end of the container -atwhich the flap is located, each ilap also extending substantially thewidth of the container, and a lever connected to each of said members-at the side of the container and operable to turn said member on saidaxis and swing the associated ap from and to a position in which theflap `is substantially horizontal to and from a position in which theflap is inclined downwardly from the underside of the container.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

